Business of the House

Nick Smith Excerpts

Thursday 8th September 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lidington]

I cannot promise an oral statement, but I will draw the hon. Lady’s concern to the attention of the relevant Minister dealing with the Government Equality Office.

[Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent) (Lab)]

Parliamentary scrutiny of Sports Direct has helped employees get a better deal from a rogue employer. May we have a debate on how a good increase in the minimum wage leads to some employers cutting back terms and conditions for their staff, resulting in a net reduction in pay? That cannot be right.

[Mr Lidington]

It is certainly not right, but I would have hoped that the hon. Gentleman might at least have acknowledged that in setting the first ever national living wage, it is this Government who have lifted, very considerably, the minimum levels of pay that low-paid employees around the country can now expect.

Business of the House

Nick Smith Excerpts

Thursday 21st July 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lidington]

It is true that if the trade unions returned fully to work, that would ease the situation enormously to the benefit both of passengers using Southern services and, as our hon. Friend the Member for South West Bedfordshire pointed out, of passengers elsewhere whose services are being interrupted to try to give extra support to Southern. I undertake to contact the Transport Secretary and to make him aware of the points raised by my right hon. Friend. I hope that by the time we return in September, this dispute will be over and services will have been restored to an acceptable level so that we will not need to have such a debate. I am sure the Secretary of State will want to consider carefully the points my right hon. Friend has made.

[Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent) (Lab)]

Fear, pressure and unrealistic expectations are the words that workers at Sports Direct use about their employment. May we have a debate on zero-hours contracts and the exploitation of workers in the retail industry, where something is going badly wrong?

[Mr Lidington]

The management of Sports Direct have given evidence to one of our Select Committees, and its report will no doubt inform debate in the House in the future. I must say to the hon. Gentleman that this Government legislated to outlaw exclusivity clauses in zero-hours contracts. For all the protestations from Opposition Members, no such action was taken during the 13 years of Labour Government.

Business of the House

Nick Smith Excerpts

Thursday 14th July 2016 Commons Chamber

[Chris Grayling]

I absolutely understand my hon. Friend’s point. Full-lane running can make a real difference on our motorways, particularly because cars are so much more reliable today than they were a generation ago, but I am aware of the Transport Committee’s concerns. The Government will respond to the report in due course and will always put safety right at the forefront of their considerations.

[Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent) (Lab)]

May we have a debate on Islamic extremism in UK prisons? The Acheson report is worrying and states that the National Offender Management Service does not have coherent strategy to deal with the threat.

[Chris Grayling]

I will certainly ensure that the new Justice Secretary is aware of the hon. Gentleman’s concerns. I tracked the issue closely when I was Justice Secretary. I looked very hard, talked to people on the frontline and made significant changes to how we handle Islamic extremism in our prisons, but we clearly need to watch the issue continually, and ensure that all the lessons are learned and that the report’s recommendations are studied carefully. I am sure that the Ministry of Justice will do that.

Business of the House

Nick Smith Excerpts

Thursday 7th July 2016 Commons Chamber

[Chris Grayling]

The hon. Gentleman has raised a very serious issue. He will be able to raise it directly with the Foreign Secretary during Foreign Office questions on Tuesday, but let me say to him now that, while we seek to engage with China and strengthen our partnerships with it, we always take opportunities to raise the question of human rights, and we want to see standards of human rights in China improve.

[Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent) (Lab)]

My hon. Friend the Member for Walsall South (Valerie Vaz) asked about yesterday’s decision to scrap the Care.data scheme. Experts say that access to patient data is vital to better understanding of the causes of disease. It should be possible both to get data security right and to give researchers access to data. We really need to discuss this issue in the House.

[Chris Grayling]

I will ensure that the Health Secretary is aware of the concerns that have been raised. It is clearly important for us to protect individual data, as it always has been, but I will ask Ministers to give a proper response to both the hon. Gentleman and the hon. Member for Walsall South (Valerie Vaz).

Business of the House

Nick Smith Excerpts

Thursday 25th February 2016 Commons Chamber

[Chris Grayling]

This is an important and sensitive issue on which there are many opportunities to bring forward debates through the Backbench Business Committee or the Adjournment debate system. As I should have mentioned earlier, we now have the largest petition we have yet seen calling for a debate on the Floor of the House relating to meningitis in childhood. I will be discussing it with the Chair of the Backbench Business Committee because I hope that that petition is debated on the Floor of the House, rather than in Westminster Hall.

[Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent) (Lab)]

May we please have a statement on today’s Ofcom review of Britain’s broadband needs? It pointed out that too many rural communities have a very poor broadband service. This Government must do better.

[Chris Grayling]

We have made good progress so far but there is still work to do. The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport will be here next Thursday and will be able to update the House on progress. Compared with many other countries, we are doing pretty well, but as long as there are rural communities that do not have access to high-speed broadband and to modern communications, we will continue to have a job to do.

Business of the House

Nick Smith Excerpts

Thursday 29th October 2015 Commons Chamber

[Chris Grayling]

Hate crime in any form is unacceptable. I am very much aware that although we have seen a spate of anti-Semitic attacks in recent months, there are regular attacks on mosques and Muslims in this country. I therefore think the steps this Government are taking are absolutely right. We should not tolerate hate crime against any of our communities. It should be dealt with by the full force of the law whenever it occurs, and the hon. Lady does an important service to this House in reminding us of our obligations in that regard.

[Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent) (Lab)]

May we have a debate on defence procurement and buying British? Why are the three new Royal Navy ships and the 500-plus armoured vehicles for the Army not being built with British steel?

[Chris Grayling]

On those occasions when there is a specialist metal requirement, we have to source the specialist metal from wherever it is made. However, 97% of the steel that is being put into Crossrail comes from British sources. It is disappointing that the Scottish Government have not done the same for their contracts in Scotland. The steel that is going into our aircraft carriers is also British steel, and I would ask the hon. Gentleman this question about defence procurement and British jobs: if he is so concerned about the use of British steel and jobs in Britain, why does his party now support a policy that would involve scrapping the plans for four new Trident submarines to be built in Barrow-in-Furness?

Business of the House

Nick Smith Excerpts

Thursday 4th June 2015 Commons Chamber

[Chris Grayling]

I pay tribute to my hon. Friend for the work that he has done in supporting a sector that is enormously important to our economy. We are world leaders in that sector, and we should work to maintain our position. Even many Members are enthusiastic participants in the products of the video games industry. The Chancellor of the Exchequer—who is, of course, preparing his Budget—will be in the House on Tuesday week, and Members will have an opportunity to make representations to him about the issue then.

[Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent) (Lab)]

May we have a debate on pay for care home staff? Social services bosses say that the system is in crisis. We need the very best staff to look after our older people.

[Chris Grayling]

I do not think anyone could disagree with that. It is very important for us to have quality staff, quality support and quality service in our care homes. The hon. Gentleman will have many opportunities to raise the issue directly with Ministers, but in many instances care is provided by private companies, some of which are good and some of which are not. As Members of Parliament, we should always seek to highlight poor performance in the care sector when we encounter it, because we can play a role in ensuring that standards are raised.

Business of the House

Nick Smith Excerpts

Thursday 28th May 2015 Commons Chamber

[Chris Grayling]

I do not know about the circumstance to which my hon. Friend refers, although it sounds as if something has gone badly amiss in his constituency. I have no doubt that he will be champing at the heels of BT to ensure that that situation is rectified. He will have the chance in the debate next week on the economy to raise matters related to broadband, which is an important part of our strategy of ensuring that this country has the modern infrastructure—not simply transport but IT infrastructure—that we will need to continue the economic progress we have made in the past five years.

[Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent) (Lab)]

May we please have a statement on the recent terrible earthquake in Nepal and how the UK Government are supporting the people there as they rebuild their country?

[Chris Grayling]

It is worth putting on record our sympathies and condolences to the people of Nepal in what we all agree was a terrible series of events. I am pleased that Britain has provided aid support, financial and otherwise, to the people of Nepal, and we will continue to do so. The Secretary of State has just returned from Nepal. She will be in the House to answer questions at the appropriate time and the hon. Gentleman will be able to ask her for more details about the support that we are providing.